What’s at stake with proofreading? ​Only your credibility

Your computer has spellchecker, so who needs proofreading, right? What’s so bad about one misspelled word, or one comma out of place, anyway?

For serious writers, a lot more is at stake than you might think. Spelling, word choice, grammar, and punctuation all contribute to the success—or failure—of your work. There are a handful of reasons why a professional should proofread your work, but here are the three of the most important ones:

Meaning: Errors can change the meaning of what you’re trying to communicate. Here’s an example courtesy of the comedian Benny Hill: “What’s that in the road, a head?” Versus, “What’s that in the road ahead?”

Thoroughness: As a writer, you know your own work. But you also may fill in meaning or understanding that isn’t reflected in your words. You may do this subconsciously. Writers have a tendency to skim their own work and read what they expect to see.

Credibility: If your readers can’t trust you to use a comma correctly, how can they trust you with the more important parts of writing? Errors detract from the reading experience. They degrade the quality of your writing.​So whether you use our services or the services of someone else, we encourage you to use a proofreader. The feedback will elevate the quality of your work—maybe a little, maybe a lot. Either way you’ll be glad you did.

Take our proofreading test

Want to put your skills to the test? Try our proofreading test. It’s a fun way to assess your knowledge about grammar, punctuation, and word use. Some of the errors are obvious and easy, but others are subtle and tricky. Give it a shot. Even if you don’t catch all the errors, you’ll probably enjoy the test.​ ​Test Section 1I awoke still feeling the affects of last night. My head throbbed. I figured it was because of either the bourbon I drunk, all the chalupas I ate, or the smack in the face from my now ex-girlfriend. If I was Amish, I thought I wouldn’t have this problem.

Test Section 2I felt badly about missing the deadline again. But more often then not my deliverable are on time. When I finally handed in the project, my Boss said “you have a flare for the dramatic.”

Test Section 3“Pour some listerine on it,” I said, “that should at least stop the bleeding.” I was busy trying to figure out whom was past out in my bathtub. “Hey” someone yelled. “Does everyone have there own clothes on now?”. Then I heard a scream from nextdoor, and I summarized that my lost python had been found.

Test Section 4“Are those nipple clamps,” she asked enthusiastically? Technically, they weren’t. They were just chip clips that I usualy used to keep my doritos from getting stale. “They are,” I replied, trying not to stair into the cavernous expanse of her pillowy cleavage.

Test Section 5Neither painful hemmeroids nor a broken down car stop me from seeing the band with the transvestite Venezualan lead singer, whom dedicated a song to you and I.​Test Section 6The account executive called the meeting. She wanted to review some revisions from the client. When I heard that, I threw up a little in my mouth. The client was an imbecile. And not just a mediocre imbecile. His capacity for imbecility was seemingly infinite—as deep and powerful as a black hole. But not just any black hole—the one inside galaxy NCG 1277 in the constellation Perseus. It’s considered the largest black hole ever discovered.

Test Section 7When Frank showed up, he asked Kyle if he could use a saw. Kyle wondered why would Frank would need a saw. Nervously awaiting an answer, the bloodstains on Franks shirt provided clue number 1. “It was a accident,” Frank mumbled. Its not my fault.” ​

Test Section 8“Your not gonna believe what Donald got caught in the bob wire fence,” Jenny said. “I don’t wanna know,” I replied. I’m not surprised though they gave him free rein in the prison yard. What’d they except?” Jenny giggled. “Does the warden Bryce McFisty know about this”?